5 things you need to know on Friday

Mar. 14, 2014
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Albert Einstein / AFP

by Editors, USA TODAY

by Editors, USA TODAY

One of the most well-known physicists of all time, Albert Einstein developed the general theory of relativity, a pillar of modern physics. But, his mass-energy equivalence (E=mc²) may be his best-known work. Einstein was in the U.S. when Adolf Hitler came to power in his native Germany in 1933, and he didn't go back. He became an American citizen in 1940 and died 15 years later at the age of 76. Einstein was born this day in 1879.

Happy Pi Day!

March 14 (3.14) is Pi Day. Math students around the country may recite as many digits as possible for a friendly classroom competition, but pi is also useful in real life. Astronomers use pi to determine a planet's surface area. Engineers use pi to build anything curved. And mathematicians know pi was the first mathematical constant discovered.

John Kerry to meet with Russian foreign minister

Secretary of State John Kerry meets today with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in London in a last-ditch bid to avert a crisis over Ukraine's Crimea region before Sunday's vote on whether to join Russia.

Lady Gaga delivers keynote at SXSW

Little Monsters, listen up. Lady Gaga delivers today's keynote speech at the South By Southwest festival in Austin, which continues after Thursday's fatal crash into a street full of concert-goers.

Theories on what happened to Malaysia Flight 370

Theories about what happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 are rampant, though many are cobbled together with dubious clues or void of facts altogether. In the absence of concrete information on where the plane is, officials haven't ruled out any possible scenarios.